VANCOUVER, May 1, 2014 /CNW/ - Tinkerine Studios Ltd. (TSX-V: TTD), a Canadian 3D printer company that manufactures and distributes 3D printers and software, today announced the launch of DittoPro, the 3D printing industry's first affordable prosumer (the market segment that offers professional-grade equipment at a consumer level price) 3D printer. DittoPro offers professional-grade print speeds and resolution of 50 to 300 microns (0.05-0.3 mm) at a retail price of just $1,999 CAD ($1,899 USD) fully assembled and is expected to ship at the end of the month.

"The prosumer market is demanding a 3D printer that features quiet operation along with high speed, high resolution and massive build volume. DittoPro delivers on all of these, packaged in an elegant design that owners will be proud to have on display," said Eugene Suyu, President and CEO, Tinkerine Studios. "With its simple, one-click operation and ease-of-use software, DittoPro can be used for creating everything from engineering prototypes to educational models."

Tinkerine pioneered the 3D printing industry's open C frame design, which the DittoPro employs to allow the build volume (the size of printed objects) to be significantly taller and deeper than the leading competitor. In addition, compared to other leading 3D printers on the market, the elegant frame shape uses 43 percent less desktop space. DittoPro's quality machined aluminum construction and stable glass print bed allows precision printing of very small parts as well.

Previous models of Tinkerine 3D printers – the Ditto+ and Litto – were developed for the DIY market and won several coveted awards from MAKE magazine. However, Tinkerine's vision was to develop an easy to use, elegant, and reliable 3D printer aimed at the prosumer and education markets. Tinkerine's engineers spent more than a year in development and testing of the Ditto printer series before releasing it to the market.

"DittoPro is a superbly-crafted 3D printer that meets all the requirements of the prosumer user and education markets," added Todd Blatt, Vice President, Market Direction, Tinkerine Studios. "Its elegance blends nicely into a classroom or on a desk, and its reliability and higher performance set it apart from the other leading machines in the market. It allows me to spend my time tinkering with my project, and not with the machine."

Tinkerine is providing a premium machine to the consumer market, which also includes prosumers such as: educators, designers and engineers to architects. The consumer market is the fastest growing segment of 3D printing today, and is expected to grow 80% per annum to 1,000,000 units in 2018 according to Juniper Research 2014.

Tinkerine develops, manufactures, distributes and sells 3D printers, software and materials for the consumer and education markets – the fastest growing segments of 3D printing. Current products include the newly released DittoPro, and previously released award-winning Ditto+ and Litto 3D printers, all acclaimed for their high performance and affordability. Tinkerine's 3D printers work seamlessly with its integrated 3D software to make printing intuitive and accessible to anyone.

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